The Latest: UNC Wilmington leads Duke at the half

Kentucky coach John Calipari laughs with reporters during practice for a first-round men's college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, March 16, 2016. Kentucky will play Stony Brook on Thursday. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

AP

The Latest on the first full day of the men's NCAA Tournament, including games being played in Providence, Rhode Island, Raleigh, North Carolina, Des Moines, Iowa and Denver. (All times EDT):

1:18 p.m.

Duke has five national titles. UNC Wilmington is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time.

And then there's this: At the half, it's UNC Wilmington 43, Duke 40 in an East Regional at Providence, Rhode Island.

UNC Wilmington, about 160 miles from the Duke campus in Durham, played the defending national champions only once before. And Duke needed overtime to pull out a 67-57 win on Feb. 8, 1982, one of only 10 victories for the Blue Devils in coach Mike Krzyzewski's second season.

Maybe the Seahawks remember.

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12:51 p.m.

Every year, it seems like one host city for the NCAA Tournament gets a lucky draw for the first two rounds.

Des Moines, Iowa, hit the jackpot this March.

The city's first shot at hosting the tournament drew top-seeded Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and Connecticut. Those programs have combined to win 20 national championships, including the Jayhawks in 2008, Kentucky in 2012 and Connecticut two years ago – over the Wildcats, no less.

Naturally, such big programs are led by big stars. Perry Ellis, Yogi Ferrell, Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray are among the talents sharing the same arena Thursday – along with unheralded guys like Stony Brook's Jameel Warney and Austin Peay's Chris Horton hoping to steal the spotlight.

''I'd I think this is one of those rare moments where we're all in one place together, and it should be exciting because it should be some great basketball,'' Kentucky coach John Calipari said.

– Luke Meredith reporting from Des Moines, Iowa.

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12:39 p.m.

Our first basket on the first full day of the NCAA Tournament was a jumper by Duke's Brandon Ingram 43 seconds into the game against UNC Wilmington.

Fans are streaming into Dunkin' Donuts Center for the first of four games. It's St. Patrick's Day, and the place already is packed. All tickets have been sold.

With under nine minutes left in the half, the game was tied at 19.

– John Kekis reporting from Providence, R.I.

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11:50 a.m.

We're a few minutes away from tipoff on the first full day of the NCAA Tournament, which just happens to fall on St. Patrick's Day.

So if you're looking for a little luck o' the Irish, you may have to wait until Friday when Notre Dame (Fighting Irish) plays Michigan State (green and white colors) in an East Regional game in New York.

In downtown Providence, though, tourney-goers will mingle with crowds of St. Patrick's Day partiers. Although alcohol sales aren't allowed at the games, the city temporarily suspended a law prohibiting open containers of alcohol in two neighborhoods Thursday through Saturday.